The following is a text of Governor's Chris Christie's remarks as prepared for delivery:

Gov. Chris Christie on his visit to Hoboken introducing a tax cap

“The New Jersey Comeback Has Begun”

Trenton, New Jersey

Lt. Governor Guadagno, Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the 215th Legislature, Members of our Congressional Delegation, Members of the Supreme Court, our former governors and the people of the State of New Jersey:

This has been a difficult week for all of us who work in this State House and are committed to public service. Over one week ago, we lost our friend Alex DeCroce. During this week, we have celebrated his life in this chamber, at his wake, at his funeral mass and, undoubtedly in the homes of the thousands of New Jerseyans whose lives he touched during his 23 years of service in the Assembly. We cap that week of recognition today by flying all flags on government buildings across our State at half staff in Alex’s honor. Now, if you will all please join me in a moment of silence to honor Alex’s life and legacy.

Knowing Alex as well as I did over the last 19 years, I know he would tell me, “Enough of this now, Chris. Let’s get back to work.” That is exactly what I intend to do.

It is a pleasure to return to this chamber to report to you on the State of our State.

Today, I am proud to report that the New Jersey Comeback has begun.

How do we know it has begun? Just look around you.

In the last two years, we have come together to address the mess that was our budget. The decline, deficits, and departures that plagued our State just two years ago have been reversed. The budget is balanced. Our unemployment rate is no longer going up, it is coming down. Job growth has been restored - in the private sector, where we want it. New Jersey is back.

We have restrained the growth of property taxes. We have put our pensions on a more stable and sustainable footing. And in doing all this, we have restored confidence and pride in New Jersey.

The New Jersey Comeback is taking place in large part because of what we have done in this chamber. Together, we have done something that Trenton hasn’t seen in a very long time. We worked together. We achieved compromise. And we put New Jersey and its people first.

For New Jersey, the corner has been turned. Today, the debate is not about who to blame for our failures, it is how to build on our successes.

It is no longer about how to deal with devastating decline; it is now about how to push New Jersey even further ahead. To be better than we thought we could be.

In these last two years New Jersey has set the standard for governance in America: be honest; don’t mince words; and do the big and difficult things. Not only because it is right, but because it lays the foundation for future greatness. Now it’s our job to finish the task.

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Job one is the economy.

Consider where we were just two years ago.

When I raised my hand to take the oath of office then, I could not say with confidence that the State would meet its payroll within two months. Imagine that, New Jersey unable to meet its payroll. That was the gravity of the mess we were left to deal with due to the mismanagement which reigned in this town before our arrival. Our deficit for that fiscal year, already more than half over, was more than two billion dollars. The budget problems for the next year, fiscal year 2011, was a record deficit of $11 billion.

The solution was not easy, but it was also not complicated. We had spent too much as a state. We had lived beyond our means. And by trying to tax their way out of it, previous governors and legislators had left New Jersey in 50th place - dead last among the states - in the total tax burden it placed on our citizens.

We had the highest tax rate in the nation, the highest unemployment rate in a quarter century, and the largest budget deficit per person of any state in the nation.

So step one was to stop the bleeding - by stopping the spending. We cut 375 programs in that first fiscal year, saved two billion dollars for the taxpayers, and brought Jon Corzine’s budget into balance. Next, with your help, we enacted a budget that imposed discipline, in the form of another cut in spending, for the second year in a row: cutting spending for each and every department of state government.

That was tough medicine - but it was the beginning of better health. Last year, because we took that medicine, we were strong enough to reduce business taxes and improve New Jersey’s climate for job creation. I want to thank this legislature for joining me in recognizing that - for New Jersey to grow private sector jobs again - we must reduce the tax burden on our citizens and our businesses.

Step two was controlling property taxes. As everyone in New Jersey already knows, they had risen 70% in the ten years before I became governor. Rising property taxes were driving people out of this state.

And so we joined together - and again I thank this legislature and in particular your leaders, Senate President Sweeney and Speaker Oliver - to cap property tax growth at no more than 2% a year. And we put the same 2% cap on the interest arbitration awards that were giving rise to higher taxes.

We must never forget that the root cause of rising property taxes is always excessive government spending. As with all problems, you must get to that root cause - and together, we did it.

Here are the latest updates from Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront.

TONIGHT:Hudson Tea Residents Lounge at 1500 Hudson St – 9 PM: Information session to get organized before tomorrow night’s public hearing of the Hudson County Planning Board. This meeting is for anyone who wants to discuss ideas and speak about strategy.

PUBLIC HEARING: Wednesday, January 18th – 6:30 PM: Public Hearing in front of the Hudson County Planning Board. Having a large number of people attend the meeting to oppose the project is necessary!!! Please come by and help us pack the room to show support in numbers to oppose this project! This meeting will be held at the Freeholders Chambers – 3rd Floor 567 Pavonia Avenue Jersey City NJ 07306. Please let us know if you need directions. See the following meeting agenda: http://www.scribd.com/doc/77804505/HCPB-Jan-2012-Agenda

PUBLIC HEARING: Tuesday, February 7th: Save the Date! Public Hearing in front of the Hoboken City Planning Board. The Monarch project is anticipated to be scheduled for this meeting, but not yet confirmed. As soon as we get a definitive answer as to the itinerary for this meeting, we will pass along the information. THE HOBOKEN CITY PLANNING BOARD MEETING IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. THIS IS OUR CITY AND THIS PROJECT CAN BE STOPPED IN ITS TRACKS IF THE PLANNING BOARD SAYS NO!!! THE PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS WILL REACT TO A LARGE SHOWING OF OPPOSITION. We will have an update on this meeting next week.

PETITIONS: We currently have approximately 1,500 signatures on our petition. Our online petition has 171 signatures. We need MORE! See link for the online petition as follows: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hoboken-public-waterfront/ - Please continue to forward this along to your contacts, friends and family! We ALWAYS need more signatures! If you want to help collect signatures, please contact Maureen Carroll at carrollmaureen@aol.com for information.

Please continue to spread the word. New people are signing our petition every day because of your help. We hope to see many of you tonight and at Wednesday's public hearing.